Activity Log

Yeast Starter:

About 24 hours before the brew, boiled 6 ounces of DME in 6 cups of water in a 2 liter flask and let cool.
Took specific gravity reading of 1.044.
Shook to aerate, pitched yeast, fitted aluminum foil over top of flask and placed at 70 f.

Mash/Lauter/Sparge:

Heated 5 gallons of water to 168 f in 7 gallon mash tun with Bazooka T-screen.
Mixed in grain and let stand at 150 f for 60 minutes.
Added boiling water and heat to mash out at 168 f for 10 minutes.
Opened spigot 45 degrees and recycled until relatively clear.
Captured 7 gallons into 10 gallon Polarware kettle, sparging with 168 f water.
Specific gravity remaining at end of sparge was 1.032, taken with new refractometer..

Boil:

Brought to a boil and added corn sugar.
Boiled for 60 minutes then added first hops.
Boiled for 30 more minutes then added second hops.
Boiled for 2 more minutes then added third hops, bitter orange, orange zest, crushed coriander and rehydrated Irish moss.
Boiled for 15 more minutes then cooled by running through counterflow chiller into funnel filter then into 6.5 gallon carboy.
Took specfic gravity reading of 1.090.
Added yeast and water which brought specific gravity to 1.081.
Aerated by rocking on folded towel. Fitted stopper and airlock and placed at 70 f.

Fermentation (target final gravity = 1.020):

Observations of primary stage
(14 days w/temp increasing to 70 f))

1 day: 67 f, 2 inches of foam, 63 bubbles per minute

2 days: 69 f, 1 inches of foam, 59 bubbles per minute

6 days: 70 f, 5/8 inches of foam, 45 bubbles per minute

7 days: 70 f half foam half film, 25 bubbles per minute

Took specific gravity reading of 1.030

Boiled 1 lb of corn sugar in 6 cups of water, cooled and added to carboy making effective original specific gravity 1.084

8 days: 70 f, half foam half film, 34 bubbles per minute

10 days: 70 f, thin film, 3 bubbles per minute

14 days: 70 f, no foam, no bubbles in a minute

Siphoned to 5 gallon carboy taking specific gravity reading of 1.044.

Observations of secondary stage
(14 days @ 72 f))

Bottling:

Discovered that refractometer was not giving the same reading as the hydrometer.
Siphoned to bottling bucket taking specific gravity reading of 1.022.
This puts ABV at about 8.1%.
Filled a 2 liter bottle two thirds full, pressurized to 30 lbs/sq in CO2 and placed in fridge to force carbonate.
This left a little more than 4 gallons in the bottling bucket.
Boiled 5 oz of corn sugar in 2 cups of water, cooled and stirred into bottling bucket.
Filled and capped 41 bottles and placed at 72 f to condition.